Selfish
by MonicaMeMe
Summary: Alec is captured by White and interrogated for information. Will Alec break before Max rescues him?


**A/N: ** My first delve into the Dark Angel fandom. Please let me know your thoughts!

**Warning: **Torture, violence, language

**Disclaimer: **I lay claim to nothing.

**Summary: **Alec is captured by White and interrogated for information. Will Alec break before Max rescues him?

**  
Selfish **

Alec stiffened, anticipating the pain as White shoved the taser beneath his ribs. It still took all his effort to keep from crying out as a burst of electricity exploded into him and raced up his body, rendering him useless until the weapon was retracted. Then Alec slumped slightly in his chair, trying to keep his body from trembling at the aftershock of being semi-electrocuted. For the fifth or sixth time. In the same fucking spot. Alec glared up at White and silently promised some major ass kicking if he got out of this. _When_. When he got out of this.

"I'll ask you again," White said.

"You've asked a number of times now," Alec muttered. "Why not try the honey approach. Just give it a go. See where it gets you."

White backhanded Alec across the face. Hard. Alec's head whipped to the side as stars exploded in front of his eyes. He shut his eyes for a second and waited for the dizziness to pass before turning and spitting out some blood. "Or not," he muttered.

"Where have you and 452 been hiding and where are my supplies?" White asked, his calm giving way to anger. "I know you've been selling them, 494, we've got you on surveillance. Now, I'll ask you one last time, and this time I'll make it easy for you." White leaned close and Alec responded by tugging at the shackles binding his arms to the chair. White laughed. "Those are reinforced steel; you're not getting out of them. Now, I'll make this real simple. Tell me where 452 is _or _where my supplies are, and I'll let you go." White straightened and zapped the taser. "If you don't, well," he smiled coldly. "There are other ways to make people talk. Oh, sorry, did I say people? I meant transgenic scum."

Alec's gaze involuntarily slid to the taser and then to the glint in White's eye – almost likw White was hoping Alec would refuse. Alec gulped and took a deep breath, shutting his eyes for a second against the fear that sparked up his spine unbidden. When he opened them again, only defiance remained. "And let Max have you all for herself? No, I don't think so. I'm selfish like that. I want to be there when we tear you apart. Anyway, you wouldn't have let me go, Whitey, you enjoy my company too much."

"Probably not," White admitted. "But I'd have made it quick." He motioned to the two guards behind him and Alec watched them approach warily . "Now you won't get that luxury."

* * *

_24 hours earlier…_

"Boo, you have got to keep those super fly, super human cycling abilities in check," Cindy said, breathing hard from the exertion of trying to keep up with Max.

Max smirked and waited for Cindy to park her bike next to her own. "Was I going too fast?"

"Too fast? Boo, Original Cindy is sweating from every available pore and Original Cindy don't do that unless she's getting extra freaky with some fine sister. But from cycling? That aint pretty and I like being pretty."

Max chuckled and followed Cindy into Jam Pony. "I'll keep my peddling skills in check then, can't have you messing up your complexion. It's not our way."

"Straight up."

"Ladies!" Max and Cindy both sighed, turning to face Sketchy as he jogged up to them and flung his arms over their shoulders. "Can I interest you in your _free_ participation in The Wall of Jam Pony Fem."

"Anything with the word 'Jam Pony' in it is bad news," Max said, frowning at Sketchy's arm around her shoulder before pushing it off.

"What you on about, fool?" Cindy asked, doing the same.

Sketchy grinned and raised his index fingers in a gesture of self-importance. "The Wall of Jam Pony Fem is a project that celebrates females in the workplace." He pushed them over to the row of lockers, ignoring their incredulous looks. "Behold." He opened his locker, revealing a collage of female Jam Pony messengers, all of them photographed in provocative positions or scantily clad. "See, it shows that females can be working mamas and still retain their sexiness. So, you two in?"

Max made a disgusted noise and tore down the poster.

"Hey!" Sketchy objected. Cindy hit him upside the head. "Ow!"

"Idiot," Cindy muttered.

"Free lunch! On me!" a voice traveled into the room a second before Alec appeared on the ramp carrying a few plastic bags. He smirked as everyone gathered around curiously. He dropped the bags on the benches near Max and stepped back. When no-one made a move towards the food, Alec frowned and waved everyone forward. "Come on, kids, dig in. Don't be shy."

"Uh, Alec," Sketchy said, glancing at the food. "We've already had our lunch break and if Normal catches us taking another one…it'd be bad."

Alec waved his hand dismissively. "What's he gonna do? Fire _everyone_?"

"…maybe."

Alec clapped Sketchy on the back. "Sketch, man, you gotta lighten up. Are you going to live your life around rules and regulations, or are you going to be your own man?"

"That's rich," Max snorted.

Alec glared at her before scooping up a six-pack from one of the bags and tossing a can to Sketchy. Sketchy caught the can and looked down at it like it was a foreign object. A slow smile spread onto his face. "Power to the little people," he toasted, opening it and licking the froth that ran down his fingers.

Alec smiled as people started crowding around the food and opening beer. He snatched two cans before they disappeared and turned to Max and Cindy, who were staring at him with their arms crossed. "You two need these more than anyone," he said, offering the cans. "No? Okay, more for me." Sketchy's open locker caught his attention and he frowned, pointing at it. "Where'd the wall of Jam Pony Fem go?"

"Alec, you are going to get us all in trouble," Cindy said.

"Yeah, what's all this?" Max added, watching him suspiciously.

"It's called food, Maxie." He shook his head and opened one of the cans they'd refused. "You sure do like looking those gift horses in the mouth, huh?"

Max grabbed the can before he had a chance to take a sip and slammed it on the bench. "You don't do the free lunch thing, Alec. So spill, what illegal activity are you up to now?"

Alec looked at her with an insulted expression. "Maybe I'm just in a sharing mood, ever thought of that?"

Max grabbed him by the lapels of his jacket and yanked him to the other side of the lockers before he had a chance to resist.

Alec shoved away her hands and straightened his jacket, scowling. "You're a real bitch sometimes, you know that?"

"Drugs, weapons, what are you dealing in now?" Max folded her arms and waited for his answer.

"Maybe I've been helping little old rich ladies cross the street."

"One day you're going to get caught, Alec!"

Alec patted her head with a smirk. "You worried about me, Maxie?"

Max scoffed and slapped his hand away. "I'm worried about your stupid ass exposing all of us."

"You think about my ass a lot?"

Before Max could answer and smack that grin from his face, Normal's voice rang out, loud and annoyed. Well, more annoyed than usual. "What is this? What is this?"

Max grabbed Alec's arm before he could run and leave them to clean up his mess. She pulled him to the lockers where Normal was staring at everyone's guilty faces, waiting for a response.

"There's only one lunch break a day. Not two. Never two. So why am I looking at a second?"

"Why don't you ask your Golden Boy?" Max pulled Alec forward, pushing him right in front of Normal.

"Yes, good idea." Normal pulled Alec aside. Max followed close. "Alec, my boy, who do I need to blame for this atrocity?"

"Yeah, Alec. Who?" Max glared at him.

Alec looked from Max to Normal, thinking. "Well…uh…I sort of bought the food -"

"No, no, not you. My beautiful boy's been corrupted."

"Well." Alec leaned in close, putting on a confidential tone. "Between you and me, Normal, the kids were taking second lunch breaks anyway. Sometimes even third or fourths. I figured, hey, might as well bring the food to them, bring the issue home, you know?"

"Please," Max scoffed, but Normal was nodding. Max did a double take. She couldn't believe Normal was buying this!

"You're a good egg," Normal said, patting Alec's shoulder. "A damn good egg. Sorry I doubted you."

Alec grinned and waved his hand. "Already forgotten."

Normal squeezed his shoulder and moved away to address the rest of the employees. "Okay, people, listen up. To make up for this little indoor picnic, no one gets a lunch break for the rest of the week." Loud protests erupted, but Normal waved them away. "Rebellion needs to be nipped in the gluteus maximus, or there'll be anarchy. The world can't function in anarchy. Rules, people, they're there for a reason. No breaks for a week."

Max's mouth slid open and her hands curled into fists. "I didn't even eat any of his stupid food!"

Normal sighed. "I don't want to hear any of your jibber jabber, missy miss, or it'll be two weeks."

Alec stepped up to Normal and leaned in close again. "Uh, I kind of need my lunches… it's, um, my work out time."

"Say no more," Normal interrupted. "I would never interfere with the path to greatness. You're off the hook."

Max clenched her fists harder and shot daggers at Alec. He caught her look and quickly turned to grab a package. Max caught up with him outside and grabbed the package from his hands. "Go back and take the blame!"

Alec grinned. "Now why would I do that?"

"Because it's your fault!"

"Hey, I didn't force feed anyone," he said, trying to grab the package off her.

She held it out of his reach, stepping back. "You know what you are? Selfish. It's always about you, never about anyone else. If we had grandmothers, you'd sell yours for a day off work."

Alec chuckled and wrapped his arm around Max's shoulders. She looked at it in disgust. "Max, Max, Max," he said. "So I saved myself from working a few extra shifts. Is that so bad? I mean, it teaches all of you to be wary of free gifts, right? So, really, you should be thanking me."

Max stared at him blankly. "If you don't remove your arm I'm going to tear it from its socket and shove it down your throat."

Alec looked taken aback for a second, before his eyes widened. "Oh, hey, that reminds me. I told Normal I'd work overtime tonight but something's come up. You can cover me, right?"

Max growled in frustration, chucking the parcel at Alec with as much force as she could muster before storming off.

"Is that a yes?" he called after her.

* * *

Max stuffed her bike gloves into her locker and shut it, wanting nothing more than a long, soothing bath. She grabbed her bag and started for the exit, but was stopped by Normal's loud voice. 

"Where do you think you're going, miss?"

Max sighed and spun to face him. "Home, Normal. You know, that place that isn't here."

He shook his head. "I don't think so. Alec said you're covering his shift tonight."

Max blanched. "What! I never said that!"

"No, he did, keep up. Here," he shoved a parcel at her. "Corner of Bourke and Arlington." He looked up when she continued to stare at him in shock. "Bip bip bip!"

Max grabbed the parcel with a growl and stormed out. She pulled her phone from her pocket and jabbed the number she knew by heart. "Hey, Logan, it's me," she said when he picked up, chucking the parcel onto the back of her motorcycle. "I need you to trace Alec's cell phone and tell me where that lying scumbag is."

* * *

Max parked her motorcycle a block away from the place Logan had pinpointed Alec's cell frequency. It was in an area full of old, abandoned buildings. An area notorious for crime. "I'm helping rich ladies across the street," Max muttered under her breath, mimicking Alec. 

A tiny movement caught her attention and Max quickly backed against a wall, sinking into the shadows. She let her eyesight zoom closer. "Found you, you little toad." She slinked through the maze of warehouses, careful to stick to the shadows and not make a sound.

Alec was leaning against the corner of a building, absorbed in scouting the area beyond. Keeping as quiet as possible, Max crept up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder, jumping back to avoid any startled retaliation.

Alec whipped around, body instantly tensing and going into a fighting stance. He frowned when he saw who it was. "Max," he breathed, lowering his arms. "You scared me."

"Why so antsy? You wouldn't be doing something illegal and dangerous, now would you?"

"Give me a break, Max," Alec said, turning back to his vigil.

"Give _you _a break?" Max strode up beside Alec, annoyed that he'd shifted his attention away from her. "What about me? I had plans tonight -" Her sentence was cut off as Alec wrapped his hand around her mouth, quieting her.

She pushed his hand away and sputtered, wiping her mouth. Alec looked insulted by her reaction. "I'm not covered in slime," he whispered.

"I wouldn't be so sure."

Alec frowned at her. "Just stop your yapping for a second, okay? You're going to make me miss the signal."

A whistle rang through the night and Alec popped his head around the corner, checking to see if the coast was clear. Apparently it was. He stuck two fingers in his mouth and loudly whistled in return.

Intrigue slowly overpowering her annoyance, Max followed him out from behind the building and into a secluded two-way alley where a few black vans were parked, waiting for their supplies to be picked up, evidently. Max watched as Alec waved forth a small string of people.

"Okay, guys, we got exactly five minutes before we're caught red-handed and, you know, shot, so no dawdling. Move it."

The group moved fast, removing large parcels from the closest van and passing them along the line, loading up a few waiting cars.

"Relax," Alec said, glancing at Max as he pulled a hundred dollar bill from his wallet and handed it to the man he was obviously paying off to turn a blind eye. "They're vitamin supplements. The government's been holding them back. The little people need their vitamins, Maxie."

"Right," Max scoffed, watching the group unload the van almost professionally – it looked like Alec and his boys had been doing this for a while now. No wonder he was able to buy people lunch. "You're a martyr; you're doing this out of the goodness of your heart. The big-assed profit you're making has nothing to do with it."

Alec shrugged. "Being one of the good guys doesn't come cheap."

The van had been unloaded and Alec left Max glaring at him to walk up to the group. "You know where to take it, boys. Like always, don't leave until I get there. If you want your pay, you stay." He grinned at Max, proud of his slogan.

She ignored him, noticing a familiar face in the crowd. "Sketchy!" Max strode up to Sketchy and pulled him away from the group. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Whoa, hey, easy, Max," Alec said, jogging up to them.

Sketchy turned his back on Max and addressed Alec quietly, shooting worried looks in Max's direction. "You said no one would find out…"

"Don't worry, I'll take care of this," Alec reassured, patting him on the back. Sketchy took one last guilty look at Max and then hurried to the car that was waiting for him.

Max slapped Alec on the arm. Hard. "You're using my friends as minions!"

Alec raised an eyebrow. "_Your _friends?"

Max wasn't listening though. She swore she heard movement, and the cars carrying Sketchy and the others had already left.

"Uh, Max?"

"Shh!" she hissed, cupping Alec's mouth. Alec pushed her hand away and sputtered in exaggeration, mocking her earlier reaction. She punched him in the stomach to shut him up and pulled him behind the warehouse. "Be quiet!" she hissed. Alec rubbed his stomach and glared at her but didn't say anything. They both peered around the wall, watching as men in official-looking suits walked up to the vans, only to find their cargo gone. They did not look happy. One of the men pulled out his cell. Max frowned, letting her eyesight zoom closer. She froze. She recognized the man - it was Otto, one of White's lackeys. She whipped around to look at Alec, staring at him in shock. "You're stealing from _White_?"

Alec looked stunned. He turned to Max and spread out his arms in a shrug. "How was I meant to know that?"

"Dammit, Alec. Let's just get out of here." Before they'd even taken a step, her phone started ringing loudly. Max jumped, fumbling to answer it. _Shit. _

"Smooth, Max," Alec muttered, watching as the group of men pulled out their guns and started hurrying towards their hiding spot.

"Shut up," Max snapped, flipping open the phone and running towards the exit. "Can't talk, Logan, in a bit of a Jam."

"Max, look out!"

A gun shot rang out and the cell exploded into pieces. Max jumped back, spinning around and knocking the gun from the agent's hand. "That wasn't cheap, you asshole!"

Alec knocked down a few other agents and raced up beside her, knees bent and arms ready in a fighting stance. They watched as men with guns and tasers appeared at every possible exit. "We're surrounded," Alec said needlessly. Before Max could respond, he kicked out his leg and snapped the wrist of the agent closest to him, scooping up his gun and taking down two more before a net was fired at him, twisting itself around his legs and arms, pulling him to the ground.

"Shit," Max muttered, before someone hit her on the head and everything went black.

* * *

Max woke up in a large cage. She sprang to her feet, body tensed. 

"Sleeping Beauty awakes," a familiar voice rang out. Max silently swore, turning to find White standing in front of her cage, arms clasped behind him, smiling smugly.

"To the face of a beast," Alec muttered.

Max looked over too see Alec in the cage beside hers. His hands were gripping the bars so tightly that his knuckles had turned white. He looked annoyed.

White smiled and started pacing in front of their cages. "And to think I thought it was going to be a bad day. So nice of you both to just show up like that, practically gift wrapped at my doorstep."

"What the hell do you want with so many vitamin supplements, anyway?" Alec asked. "Hunting us sapping all your energy?"

White turned to him and shook his head. "They're not _just_ vitamin supplements. If you'd taken a closer look at what you were _stealing, _you'd see that they contain rare minerals that you can't get from any health store. In the right combination, these supplements might one day help us wean you freaks out into the open. It's a mineral that wasn't designed for humans to need, but you can mix them with ordinary vitamins and our bodies won't mind it there. But you freaks, on the other hand…well…" He looked up at Alec and gave him a disgusted look. "You really think plain ol' vitamin supplements would be guarded with that much security?"

"Oh," Alec said.

"You're an idiot!" Max growled.

"I agree," White said.

Alec rolled his eyes and sighed. "Great, you're both on the same side."

"You chose the wrong people to steal from. Though, I'm not complaining - I have you both now, don't I?" White let his gaze slide between them and was silent for a few seconds. "One of you tell me where you've hidden the parcels you stole."

"You didn't say please," Max spat.

"Sorry, where are my manners. Tell me where they're hidden or I'll stop playing nice." He smiled and Max. "Please." White motioned forward two guards. They were gripping taser rods. One flanked each cage, tasers at the ready.

Max backed away from the guard, preparing herself to break his arm the second he got close enough.

"She doesn't know anything," Alec said casually.

Max turned to look at him, frowning. White did the same.

"By all means zap her silly, I couldn't care less, but it'd be a waste of time."

_What are you doing, Alec?_ Max silently asked.

White studied Alec for a second. "But you're going to tell me?" White motioned to the guard next to Max. He joined the one near Alec.

Max watched as Alec's gaze flickered to the tasers in the guards' hands and she could see his mind working. If he told White, then the group he'd hired to wait by the stash until he'd arrived would be put in danger, but if he didn't…

"No," Alec said, smiling. "I'm not."

White almost growled. "Yeah, you will." He nodded at the guards and they reached through the cage, jabbing Alec with the tasers.

"Hey!" Max yelled, banging her fists against the cage bars as Alec clenched his teeth and slumped to the floor, body trembling from the electric shocks long after he'd lost consciousness.

"Take him to the interrogation room," White commanded.

Max banged her hands against the bars again, seething as the guards unlocked Alec's cage and pulled him out by his arms, dragging him from the room.

"Just you and me," White said, strolling up to Max's cage. "Been waiting for this for a long time."

"Gag me!"

A noise from outside caught both their attention. White turned to check it out just as a bullet flew past him, barely missing him. "What now…"

Max watched as Asha and the S1Ws rushed into the room, taking the two remaining guards by surprise and shooting a metal net at White who wasn't able to duck in time.

"Are you okay?" Asha asked, running up to the cage.

"Yeah, I'm fine. What are you doing here?"

"Logan called in a favor. And gave me this." She pulled out a skeleton key and unlocked the cage. Max sprang out just as one of Asha's men took a hit to the stomach.

"Shit! We gotta go!" Asha yelled.

More than fifty guards swarmed into the room and Max was forced to help Asha get her crew out of there, ducking flying bullets and silently promising Alec that she'd be back.

* * *

_Present_

Alec struggled against the arms trying to strap him onto a hard, metal bed lined with cylinders and a range of other medical looking devices. He wrung his arms from their grips and kicked out his legs, but a swift blow to his stomach and head subdued him enough for them to slam his body down and strap him to the bed. Tightly. He lay there panting for a second, letting his eyes roam the dirty, dank room they'd set up. White's smug face came into view above him and Alec tugged at the restraints, itching to wipe that smile off his face, but he knew the straps wouldn't break. He remembered trying to no avail last time.

White tapped the metal bed, just above Alec's head. "You remember this thing, don't you?"

Alec refused to answer. He concentrated on breathing and preparing himself for what was about to come.

"They used this thing to help with your reindoctrination back in Manticore, didn't they? I read your file. I thought you'd appreciate the nostalgic gesture." White waited for Alec to respond, but Alec continued to stare ahead, ignoring him, blocking out everything, preparing.

"It's an updated version, of course," White continued. "More powerful, more precise. Tends to get the job done. I'm feeling generous, though, so I'll give you one last chance to tell me what I want to know. Think hard, 494, is it worth keeping silent? Where are my supplies and where is 452 hiding?"

Alec's mind involuntarily flashed back to the laser probing his mind, years ago now, shredding his sense of self away from him, layer by layer. He felt sweat run down his back at the memory but he forced himself to look ahead and say nothing. He wouldn't sell Max out again and he wouldn't be responsible for Sketchy's death because of a botched up operation.

White sighed and backed away. "Fine, have it your way." He nodded at the people manning the bed and they tightened the straps, nearly cutting off Alec's circulation. Then one positioned a long cylinder device in front of Alec's face and pressed a button on its side. Two red beams shot out and penetrated Alec's eyes, burning into his mind and memories with a force and heat that left Alec struggling for breath and grinding his teeth to keep from crying out.

"It's only going to get worse," White said from somewhere nearby. "Tell me what I want to know voluntarily and we won't have to torture it out of you."

"F-fuck you," Alec stammered, trying to turn to look at White, but someone grabbed his head and locked his neck down with a cold metal brace. They then pressed a button and little lights popped on along the brace, shooting beams through his skin as the heat from the laser increased and tore through Alec's mind, rupturing his memories and sending shocks through Alec's body. He screamed, clenching his fists until his palms bled and trying to jerk away but finding no recluse from the pain. So he shut his eyes and let it take him, let it course through his body and leave tremors behind; let it eat through his memories, slamming each one to the surface like a hit from a jackhammer. He let his mind run away as his body shook and trembled and jerked. Let his mind release everything it was holding onto as the heat in his head increased and blood began to run from his eyes.

Everything but the whereabouts of Max and the supplies. He locked up that information in an impenetrable part of his mind. He hid it there so that even when he forgot his own name and forgot that anything existed outside of this pain, when it got to the point that he'd babble about anything and everything to stop it, to stop the heat boiling his insides and the blood welling in his throat, he would never accidentally betray his friends. The information wasn't his to give anymore . He'd locked it away, far far away.

The heat and pain and electricity suddenly eased, retracting until it disappeared, leaving Alec cold and shaking. Tremors ran through his body and he was finding it hard to breathe. His vision wavered in and out, in and out, and if he concentrated hard enough, he could almost pretend he was on a boat somewhere. Far far away. Just floating.

"Why did you stop?" White demanded, crashing into Alec's fantasy.

A woman's voice answered. Something about too much for the body to handle and needing rest. Alec couldn't really tell what she was saying. He was concentrating on the salty taste on his lips. It wasn't blood; was it seawater? Maybe he really was on a boat. No, it was…it was tears. Alec was startled to find that they'd run from his eyes without his consent. It pissed him off. He'd already given White the satisfaction of hearing him scream, he didn't want White to think he'd been crying too.

"Do it!" White screamed, drawing Alec's attention back to the situation at hand. He blinked a few times and the woman came into focus. She was shaking her head angrily, but she did what White asked. She increased a dial on the side of the machine and then turned the beams back on.

They shot into Alec and pain like he had never experienced, and would kill before he had to again, shot through him. Alec screamed - a long, loud primal scream that bounced off the room's walls as his back arched and his wrists strained against the straps.

"STOP IT!" Alec screamed, his voice breaking, his head twisting and turning to get out of the beam's reach.

"Tell me where 452 and my supplies are," White answered calmly.

"STOP!" Alec screamed again, and kept screaming until his breath left him and his throat dried from the exertion. Every inch of his body screamed with him, protesting vehemently as pain shot through him like a hot knife slicing into every nerve. His body writhed and he tried to escape the agony by running into a memory, any memory, but every one he drew to the surface exploded under the force of the laser in a blast of red like molten lava.

Then his body went into seizure, shaking and jerking uncontrollably, straining the straps until his skin bled. After a few minutes that seemed to stretch on for years, a blanket of black descended and Alec prayed it would never lift.

* * *

Max paced up and down Logan's study, growing more agitated with every step. 

"The moron!" she growled. "What was he thinking? The idiot gets himself captured and decides to play hero – 'ooh, look at me, I call be all noble, Maxie, I can'. Idiot. He's going to get himself killed. I should just let him rot there!"

"We're going to rescue him, Max," Logan said quietly. "He's going to be okay."

Max stopped pacing and looked at Logan, letting his assurance wash away some of her anger. She nodded numbly. "I know. But _then _I'm going to kick his ass."

Logan wasn't listening. He was frowning and fiddling with a few settings on his computer. He smiled. "I knew investing in the expensive equipment was worth it. A while back I was on a case that meant I had to bug the warehouse White had you and Alec trapped in. If they're still in there, we should be able to hear them." Logan unplugged his earphones and turned up the volume. First only static met their ears, but then voices, too low to hear properly, emerged through the fuzz.

"Can't you clear it?"

Logan fiddled with a few knobs. The static faded but they still couldn't distinguish any words.

"That could be anyone."

"Shh," Logan said, frowning and turning up the volume. The unmistakable sound of a scream rang out from the speakers.

Max grew cold, dread spiking up her spine. She slowly looked over at Logan.

"I think you need to call Sketchy and get those supplies," Logan said, looking grim.

Max nodded.

* * *

He groaned as feeling began to return to his body. It slowly crept up, starting from his ankles and traveling all the way to his head. Alec reluctantly opened his eyes, groaning again as the light assaulted his senses and added to the headache pounding through his skull. He blinked a few times, trying to clear the fog. He found himself staring at his own lap. That's when he realised he was no longer lying down, he was strapped to a chair. Or maybe it was that metal bed turned into a chair? Who knows, who cares. Alec forced his slumped body to straighten and found himself staring at a dank, crumbling wall. Was he still in that makeshift interrogation room or was this a new one? He decided he didn't care about that answer either. 

He realised he was shaking. His shirt clung to him and sweat ran down his face, or maybe blood or, god, even tears. His wrists and ankles stung, chaffed raw from the seizure and his attempts to get away from the pain. To run and not look back. It wasn't meant to catch up to him if he did that, if he didn't look back. But this time he couldn't run, he was strapped down to a fucking metal chair.

"Good, you're not dead." White stepped into view, flanked by two men whose eyes shone with a disturbing combination of glee and hate. These weren't government . These were Familiars. "I'm not done with you, yet."

"Yippee," Alec sputtered, coughing with the effort to speak. His throat ached from screaming, almost as much as his back did from being forced into these fucking chairs.

"I don't expect you to tell me anything," White said. "You've probably gone and shoved the information into your subconscious. Nifty little trick they taught you freaks back at Manticore."

Alec rolled his head back to glare at White. "I'm going to kill you, you know." Was his voice slurring or was that just his hearing fucking up?

"I find that very hard to believe." White nodded at the two men behind him. "I'm going to leave you with these two. You decide you want to dreg up that information or let us help you retrieve it, let them know. If not, well, you're dumber than you look." White opened the door and with one last disgusted look, left the room, leaving Alec at the mercy of his lackeys.

"We prefer you don't tell us anything," one said, circling him.

"We hate you and your kind. You're filth. You're scum. One less is a happier world," the other chimed in.

"Says Beavis and Butthead," Alec slurred, glaring at them.

"We're going to kill your girlfriend when she comes to rescue you. Tear her to pieces."

"She's not my girlfriend," Alec answered automatically. "And you stay away from her."

"Are you scared? You should be."

Alec lifted his gaze, locking eyes with the one who'd asked. "Go to hell."

He didn't see the fist coming, he just felt the impact, felt his head whip to the side and something crack inside him. Maybe it wasn't a bone. Maybe it was something deeper. Because all he really knew was that he disappeared then. Vaguely he heard the sounds of flesh smacking flesh, of something wet splattering against the ground and of a knife trailing down skin, and maybe a scream. But only vaguely. And he couldn't see or feel anything.

He'd already tried shuffling through his memories to find a safe place to hide, but nowhere was safe. So he just…disappeared.

* * *

Sticking to the shadows, Max ran through the old warehouse, down its corridors, eyes peeled for Alec. Through Eyes Only she'd contacted White and said she was willing to offer a trade, but that she wanted to work out negotiations first. If the plan had gone accordingly, White should be waiting out front flanked by his lackeys, waiting for a van to pull up with Eyes Only inside to talk through the deal. Only there would be no van and no negotiation. She just needed White to leave Alec alone for a few minutes so she could get him out of here. Almost hard to believe White had fallen for it. 

Max slunk around a corner, into the back room, and froze. A cage like the one she'd been trapped in earlier sat in the middle of the room. Alec was lying unconscious inside it. Four guards manned him.

"Hey!" she yelled.

They whipped around, startled, drawing their guns and rushing towards her. But Max was too fast and too angry to let them get an upper hand. All four were crumpled on the ground within seconds. She relaxed her fighting stance and ran up to the cage, grabbing the skeleton key Logan had lent her and shoving it into the lock, swinging open the door and hurrying inside.

She gasped when she saw the state Alec was in. He was lying on the ground, eyes shut tightly, his whole body shaking and trembling. Sweat mingled with blood, matting his hair, running down his face and plastering his shirt to his chest. His torn, bloodied shirt.

"Alec," Max whispered, kneeling next to him and gently touching his shoulder. One of his eyes was swelling shut and his face was bruised black and blue – a violent collage of everything White had made him endure. "Alec," Max whispered again. She bit her lip, too horrified by his treatment to think clearly. "You idiot," she finally whispered. Her voice sounded thick. She went to feel for a pulse, but pulled back her hand . Large, bloodied welts circled his wrists. Max shook her head slowly, anger and grief battling inside her chest and clouding her head. _White's not getting away with this. God, how could anyone do this?_

Max's anger was forgotten as a low moan drifted up from somewhere deep inside Alec. "Alec?" She brushed some of his hair out of his eyes as they fluttered open. He stared vacantly for a second then slowly focused on her. He jerked back, his breath increasing.

Max quickly pulled away and scooted backwards. "Hey," she soothed. "It's okay, Alec. It's Max. You're fine now. You know, until you get better and I kick your ass for getting captured in the first place."

Alec didn't smirk or roll his eyes. He just stared at her, still shaking, still struggling to breathe. "Rachel?" he finally said. "I'm sorry."

Max didn't know how to respond. She was shocked and rattled. This wasn't Alec. This wasn't the smart assed, cocky pain in her ass. This was someone broken. Max couldn't stop her mind from flashing back to Ben. She took a deep breath and banished the image from her head. "You have nothing to be sorry about," she said firmly. "White does, and we'll make him pay one day, I promise. But right now we need to blaze." She grabbed him under his arms and pulled him to his feet, ignoring how limp he felt. "You need to go on a diet," she grunted, wrapping one of his arms around her shoulder and grabbing him firmly around the waist with the other. She tried to take a few steps but almost stumbled under his unresponsive weight. "Alec," she pleaded, looking at the entrance, her sensitive hearing picking up footsteps. "We have to move. Help me out here." She felt a tremor run through him but he managed to get his feet moving, managed to lift some of his weight off her.

* * *

Somehow they managed to get out of that building undetected; somehow Alec managed to remain conscious until Max placed him in the backseat of Logan's car. He hadn't said anything else though, hadn't looked at Max, hadn't so much as coughed. And now he was unconscious again. 

Somehow Max and Logan managed to half carry half drag Alec up to Logan's apartment, neither mentioning how cold he felt or how much he was shaking or how his blood stained their clothes. Somehow they managed to lift him onto the bed in the guest room without accidentally touching each other and activating Logan's virus.

Somehow they managed to convince Doctor Carr to pay Alec a home visit. She checked his pulse, cleaned his cuts, bandaged his ribs, gave him pain pills and reprimanded Max and Logan for not getting him to a hospital. They couldn't, it was too risky; White would be looking for him there.

Somehow Alec managed to stay quiet through it all.

* * *

"Are you okay?" Logan asked, coming up behind Max who was leaning against the doorframe, watching Alec sleep. 

"How could anyone do that to another person? Does White really believe being a transgenic makes us less human?" Max turned away and stormed into the kitchen, banging open the cupboard and taking out some coffee. She didn't even feel like it but she was too angry to keep her hands still. She'd let Logan drink it.

"That's why he's dangerous. Alec's lucky White didn't just kill him."

Max was quiet for a second, frantically grinding coffee beans. "He wanted Alec to tell him where those supplies were."

"And, after Asha rescued you, my guess would be he also wanted Alec to tell him where you've been hiding."

Max ground the beans harder. "Trust Alec to keep his trap shut about something like that. You know why he did it, don't you? Now I can't rag him about being selfish and giving us overtime and ruining our lunch breaks. Idiot."

Logan chuckled. "Ah, you crazy kids."

* * *

The first thing Alec noticed was that he wasn't hurting as bad. The second thing he noticed was the smell of coffee. The third was that he was lying on something soft. He forced his eyes open a crack and saw a hideous painting staring back at him from the wall over. _Must be at Logan's_._ Huh._

"Alec?"

He forced his eyes to open the rest of the way and blinked a few times, clearing the fog. He looked over to find Max sitting on a chair near the bed, watching him with wide eyes. Alec smirked. "Watching over me, Maxie?" He frowned at how gravelly his voice sounded.

"Just want to make sure you don't croak before you pay me back for saving your ass again."

The memories of everything that had happened hit suddenly and he shut his eyes, waiting for the nausea to pass.

"Hey." Max's voice broke through the memories swirling in his head.

Alec opened his eyes and slowly pulled himself up, cringing at the residue pain that spiked through him. "What?" he asked, gingerly feeling his bruised face.

"Thanks."

Alec raised an eyebrow and turned to look at her. She was fiddling with her mug, looking more than a little uncomfortable. "For, you know, everything." She glanced up and shoved the mug in front of him. "Coffee?"

A small smile slid onto Alec's face. "How long have I been out?"

Max put the coffee on the bedside table and looked down at a spot of the floor. "Couple days."

"You been playing guardian angel that whole time? Aw, didn't know you cared so much, Maxie. Trying to get in my pants?"

Max scoffed and stood up. "I gotta get to work before Normal fires me. Get Logan to call me if you need anything. Not _anything_ anything," she quickly corrected as his smirk widened. "You're such an idiot."

"Hey, Max?" Alec called as she was heading out the door. She turned and looked at him. He noticed her eyes slide over his bruises. "Thanks for saving my ass."

"Just don't get caught again, okay? I can't keep giving up my life to rescue yours." She began to pull the door shut but Alec saw her sigh and poke her head back in. "I'm proud of you. Now rest, you look like shit." She closed the door before he could respond.

Alec slumped down against the pillows, letting his eyelids fall shut as sleep tried to reclaim him. He'd disappeared for a while, but he was back. Max had made sure of that. He smiled.

* * *


End file.
